New Year's Eve
by awkwardegleekell
Summary: AU: Finn and Rachel on New Year's Eve. Rachel never expected to see Finn again after they kissed in New York. But she was wrong.
1. Prologue

I do not own Glee or Finchel because if I did, Finchel would still be together.

New Year's Eve

Prologue:

New York was alive. It was New Year's Eve and people crowded in Times Square squaling in anticipation because the ball would drop in minutes. Among the crowd was a petite brunette. She stood silently in the crowd staring at the ball. She remembered all the years her dads would take her to New York to see it drop and bathed in the memory of the exhilaration that she felt every year when the ball dropped. Sadly, she had not been to New York ever since her dads both passed in an accident a few years back. She quickly wiped off the silent tears that were streaming down her face.

Also in the crowd, there was a tall man. He stood among friends, but unlike his laughing friends, he was standing silently, staring at the ball. He thought back to the last time that he was in Times Square. He was proposing to his girlfriend, Quinn. He was so sure that she would say yes, until she broke down crying, admitting that she was in love with his best friend. They were still friends, just not very close ones.

Both heartbroken individuals stared at the ball as people started to countdown the final seconds of the year. The man drew away from friends, and made his way through the crowd to stand where he was when he proposed to Quinn, which so happened to be where the petite brunette stood.

As the ball finally dropped, the crowd exploded in excitement and happiness. The two individuals looked around them to find that everybody around them were sharing a midnight kiss. As they caught each other's eyes, the man shrugged and leaned down to kiss the stranger.

After the drew apart, the man introduced himself.

"Hi. I'm Finn. Finn Hudson," he said with a half-smile, "Sorry about that, I guess that I was just caught up in the moment."

The woman shyly looked up at Finn, before introducing herself. "Rachel. Rachel Berry."

"Nice meeting you, Rachel." And with that, Finn walked off to rejoin his friends, but not before he looked back at Rachel to give her a small smile.

Rachel watched as the man walked away, and once he was out of sight, she whispered, "It was nice meeting you too, Finn Hudson."

She silently scurried back to her apartment, never expecting to bump into Finn again.

**A/N **

**I hope you liked it (: I'm thinking of maybe basing it off of one of the storylines in New Year's Eve. Please Review and a new chapter will be up soon! Thanks again (:**


	2. Reunion?

I do not own Glee or Finchel because if I did, Brody would already be dead.

Chapter 1.

Two Months Later

Even in March, the New York air was cold as Rachel walked to her job. She worked as a vocal coach at a music store based in the heart of New York. It wasn't exactly where she wanted to be in life, but it paid the bills. She'd had her shot at broadway years back. She was Fanny Brice in the broadway production of Funny Girl. It just wasn't meant to be.

One month after the show debuted, her dads got in an accident when they were driving to see her show. After they passed, she spiralled in a deep sea of depression, which only now, three years later, has begun to go away. Because of her depression, she dropped out of the show, blaming herself for her fathers' deaths. After months of seeing a therapist, she applied for a job as a vocal coach and never looked back.

Halfway to her destination, Rachel stopped by the local coffee house to pick up her daily cup of coffee.

Meanwhile, one Finn Hudson was making his way to meet his best friend, Noah Puckerman. Even though the two had an extremely rocky relationship, due to the fact that Puck was now dating Quinn, Finn's ex, real friends stuck until the end.

Puck had told him about this coffee house that apparently had the "best coffee money could buy".

Though Finn had never even tried coffee, he agreed to meet Puck at the shop. After waiting in line, and buying a chocolate chip muffin, Finn sat down with Puck at one of the small tables placed around the shop.

"So, you're probably wondering why I wanted to meet you here." Puck said nervously. Finn was surprised. Through all the years he had known Puck, Puck was never the type to be nervous.

"Out with it, man!" Finn replied after a moment of awkward silence due to the fact that Puck had a dazed look on his face.

"Huh? Oh yeah. Well, um, I'm thinking of...um...proposingtoQuinnI'mreallysorry,Imeansheisyourexgirlfriendan dpleasedon'tkillmeI'msorrybutIloveherdude." Puck said hastily, before blocking his face with his hands.

Finn just sat there. A year ago, Finn may have tackled Puck then and there, not even caring that they were in public. But now, instead of anger, all he felt was sadness. If Quinn could move on that quickly, why couldn't he?

"Um, dude, you alright there?" Puck said with worry in his voice. Puck's voice jolted Finn back to reality, and as Finn looked up at Puck, he realized that he couldn't face this now. He was still too hung up over Quinn and the fact that his best friend, of all people, would be proposing to the woman that he once (still?) loved.

Finn stood up and walked out the door, just as a petite brunette walked in. They slammed straight into each other.

"Umm, I'm really sorry about that..." Finn said, his voice laced with sadness.

"That's alright, I should have watched where I was going." Rachel said apolegetically. She looked up at the man that she had just bumped into, he looked familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on where she might have known him. Was he Jim, the guy from her apartment building? No. What was his name? Fletch? Tim? Flynn?

Finn looked down at the woman in front of him. She looked very familiar. Was she that secretary from work? Rebecca? Hannah? Rochelle?

Puck watched as the two just stood and stared at each other. He figured that he might as well try to talk to Finn because Finn hadn't left yet.

"Dude! Finn! C'mon! We need to have this talk!" Puck hollered at Finn.

Once again, Puck's voice shook Finn from deep concentration.

"Dude. I'm sorry. I can't. Not right now." Finn sped from the site in a flurry.

Rachel recapped the scene that just played in front of her. Finn. That was his name. It wasn't until she had her first sip of coffee that she remembered where she remembered him from. He was the guy that kissed her on New Year's Eve.

* * *

Finn was walking around Central Park aimlessly, trying to figure out what had just happened. Kids ran past him, their voices echoeing in his head.

"Rachel! You're it now!" One kid shouted.

"That's not fair, Olivia! You scared me!" The other girl argued.

There voices muted in his head as he came to a realization. Rachel. That was the name of the petite brunette. Where does he know he from? Finn racked his brain, looking aroiund the park for something to trigger his memory.

He looked at two people making out on a bench.

Rachel. The girl that he'd kissed on New Year's Eve. Realization hit him like a brick.

**A/N**

**Hey again guys(: after I posted the prologue on, I got all these amazing reviews and I'd like to thank you guys for posting such nice things(: I hope you liked the chapter and review! If you guys have any ideas, just PM me, I'd be happy to try to work them into the story(: that's all for now folks!**


	3. The First Smile in Ages

**I do not own Glee or Finchel because if I did, Brody would be gay.**

Chapter 2

"Kurt, I really don't want to go." Finn said, frustrated.

"Don't be silly, Finn. We're going to check out the new antiques, and then we can go and do whatever you want." Kurt replied with an eye roll. Kurt continued to drag Finn out of the apartment that they shared, down the stairs, and out of the building onto the sidewalk, where he pulled Fin into a taxi.

"Monique's Antiques please." Kurt instructed to the cab driver.

"Why do you even need more antiques? You already have 5 huge ones in our apartment." Finn groaned.

"Yes, Finn. FIVE. That is IT. Five is technically NOTHING. Grow up, Finn. We can go frolic in the park, get food, spraypaint a building, kill a bird, anything…but it will have to wait UNTIL we go to the shop." Kurt said forcefully.

"UGHHHHH….but it's across town…" Finn moaned and slouched like a toddler that was just denied candy.

Meanwhile, Rachel was moving a heavy box out of her apartment. It was full of her dads' old antiques. Her dads were antique collectors. Now that they were gone, she'd decided that she would sell them to the local antique shop.

She groaned as she entered the nearest taxi cab.

"Monique's Antiques, please." Rachel told the cab driver. She looked down at the box of antiques in her lap.

Once she had arrived at her destination, she paid the driver and walked into the store. After navigating her way through the various antiques, she found the cashier.

"Hi, I'd like to sell these antiques," she said to the woman at the front, guessing that it was Monique, the owner of the store.

"Sure, honey." The older woman looked into the box, inspecting the box of antiques that the brunette had brought.

Kurt on the other hand, was still dealing with Finn's whiny mood.

"What's up your ass, Finn?" Kurt said, the annoyance dripped from his voice.

"I kissed this girl on New Year's and I saw her again yesterday."

"Sounds tough, man. Maybe you should try to find her." The cab driver interjected.

"Nobody asked you, mind your own business." Finn spat back at the driver.

Kurt's eyes widened. Finn was always nice, unless it was because of Puck.

"Sorry about that sir, he's had a rough week." Kurt apologised to the driver, "Now tell me what happened, Finn."

"Puck happened. Again."

Kurt groaned. Of course it was Puck. Only Puck could turn that Finn's friendly face into the face of evil.

"What happened _this_ time, Finn?" The last time Finn had been like this was when Finn had caught Quinn and Puck going at it in the closet.

"He's proposing."

Right as Finn's words left had his mouth; the cab driver reached their destination.

"And…because I was so shocked because he was proposing in the first place, I walked away from her. The girl that I kissed on New Year's Eve." Finn continued while he was ducking his way around the store.

Finn all of a sudden bumped into a small figure.

"Oh God. I'm soo sorry, you wouldn't believe how many times that's happen this week." Finn quickly said.

The small figure looked up, her face filled with shock.

"Finn?" Rachel questioned, her voice laced with shock.

"Rachel?" Finn's face mirrored her own. Shocked, confused, and a little bit happy.

"Rachel? Oh my! It's been too long." Kurt said, his own voice filled with wonder.

"Kurt?" Finn and Rachel said at the same time.

"Finn?" Kurt questioned.

"MONIQUE!" Monique said cheerfully, "Sorry, but I was feeling a little left out. Miss, I'd be glad to take these off your hands."

"Oh, um, great." Rachel replied hesitantly. Monique paid Rachel, and went to the back of the store to add the items to the inventory.

"So, um, how do you guys know each other." Finn spoke up awkwardly.

"Rachel and I both went to NYADA together. Last I heard, she was tackling the broadway world, one show at a time." Kurt said.

"Yeah, I quit broadway a few years back." Rachel admitted, looking ashamed

"Oh, that's such a shame, though my old self would not admit this, you were my only competition there. I hope you don't mind me asking why."

"My dads passed…it was my fault that they died. I'm sorry, but I can't talk about this now." Rachel hurriedly answered.

"That's alright, Rachel, I'm sorry to hear about your dads."

The entire time that the exchange took place, Finn stared at Rachel with wonder. How had he never met Rachel? Wait…the time that Kurt was in NYADA, Finn spent it in OSU, keeping a long distance relationship with Quinn. Quinn. The girl that stole his heart and ripped it to pieces.

"May I ask how you and Finn know each other?"

Kurt's voice drilled through Finn's daze and woke him up from his day dream.

"Sorry, um, we met on New Year's."

"Wait…this is THE girl from New Year's?"

Rachel looked at the sight before her. Kurt knew about her and Finn? Oh..what if Finn had been badmouthing her the entire time? What if he went on and on about how she was a terrible kisser or something. She didn't have much practice. She'd only had one boyfriend before, but they broke up right after she spiralled into depression.

"Yeah." Finn replied, rubbing his neck while looking at the ground.

"Ohhh," Kurt said with a knowing voice, "well, what are you doing at this antique store, Rach?"

"I'm dropping off my dads' old antiques." She replied, a hint of sadness in her voice.

The group stood silent, awkwardness stained the air around them.

"Okay! Rachel is it? It was a pleasure doing business with you, come again!" Monique exclaimed, emerging from the storage room.

"Well, it was nice to see you again, Kurt. Let's meet up and catch up soon." Rachel said while looking through her purse for her phone.

"Yes, of course. " Kurt took out his own phone and exchanged numbers with Rachel.

"Well, Finn, um, it was nice to see you too. "

"Yeah, ditto." Finn mentally slapped himself. _Ditto? What kind of an idiot would say ditto?_

Rachel was also freaking out inside._ Ditto? He must really not want to talk to me._

Both stood, waited, and stared, willing each other to say another word.

C'mon, Finn, ask her out! A voice screamed inside of Finn's head.

Just do it, Finn, ask me out or something, a voice said inside Rachel's head.

After a long silence, Rachel finally spoke up.

"Well, I got to go. See you guys." She said with a smile, but on the inside she was dying.

" What was I expecting anyway? I barely know the guy," she mummbled quietly to hereself.

Back inside the store, another scene took place.

"Why didn't you ask her out, Finn?!" Kurt practically screamed, "She was practically begging you with her eyes."

"Really?" Finn replied dumbly.

"I swear that you are hopeless." Kurt said with an eyeroll.

"Do you think maybe I could use your phone?"

"Sure."

Finn looked through Kurt's contacts to find what he wwas looking for.

There. Rachel Berry*. There was even a star beside her name. He pressed the contact, and within a few rings, someone picked up.

"Kurt?"

"No, it's Finn."

"Oh. Hi." Rachel said lamely.

"So I was wondering if you'd like to go for coffee sometime, not that I've ever tried coffee."

"Sure, I'd love to."

"So, how about tomorrow at noon."

"Great, it's a date."

They both hung up and smiled to themselves about tomorrow.

That night was the first time in years that both Rachel and Finn slept with a smile on their face.

**A/N**

**You guys are amazing. I actually didn't ****have high expectations**** on this story****( I thought that it would crash and burn)****, so thanks for reading and following and reviewing (: Oh and goldensunflowers…STOP CALLING ME KELLYPOO, there's a reason why I have a name. To my readers: Fun fact time(: goldensunflowers is the one that introduced me to and gave me the antique idea, and is one of my best friends in the entire world. CHECK HER OUTTT. So R&R people and that's all for now, you finchel fanatics. **


	4. The Date(s)

I don't own Glee or Finchel because if I did, Finn would have never met Quinn.

Chapter 3

In a little apartment in the heart of New York, a tiny brunette laid in her bed. She had just had the best sleep in ages. As her eyes opened and adjusted to her surroundings, she grinned. Today was her date with one Finn Hudson.

On the other side of town, a tall man awoke from a deep slumber filled with happy dreams. His eyes opened and he grinned. Today was his date with one Rachel Berry.

She scurried to her bathroom to get ready, and after searching for the perfect outfit, she settled on her favourite owl sweater and the skinny jeans that her best friend, Santana, had forced her to try and buy.

Finn, on the other hand, ran around his bedroom trying to find a clean shirt. His clothes were piled in dirty heaps all around his room, and Kurt had called his room a pig sty on multiple occasions. His frantic search caused a huge disturbance in the apartment, waking up a cranky Kurt.

"Finn, what on earth are you doing at nine in the morning?"

"Getting ready for my date with Rachel!" Finn shouted from within his closet.

"What are you trying to find? Here, let me help." Kurt volunteered, picking up some dirty clothes off the ground and putting it in Finn's hamper.

"Gosh, Kurt! I need a clean shirt! I can't show up in any ole shirt!"

"Why? You always did that with Quinn."

"Rachel's...she's...different. I feel like I want to try for her. Does that sound weird to you?"

"Coming from a rom com actor, no. Coming from you? Yes."

"Shut up and help."

Together, the two brothers found Finn an acceptable outfit.

Though, Finn's problems were solved, Rachel was finding new problems. She hurriedly searched through her medicine cabinet.

"Lipstick. Where's the lipstick?" She murmurred, searching carefully.

"Holy, Berry. Quiet the hell down. I had a wild night lasrt night. Me and Britts went to the new dance club." Santana yawned as she entered Rachel's room.

"Good morning, San."

"Well, it's not that good, because your nonsense woke me up. What the hell are you doing up at nine?"

"Getting ready for a date."

Santana raised her brows.

"Really? You? On a date? How long has it been since Jesse St. Douchbag dumped you?"

Rachel glared at her best friend.

"If you're wondering it's been three years, and I'm completely over him. Now just help me find my lipstick."

"Whatever."

In the end, the lipstick turned out to be in the back of the medical cabinet. After applying the lipstick, Rachel walked out of the bathroom to find that it was 11:30. Had it really taken them two hours to find a lipstick?

Swearing, Rachel quickly grabbed her coat and left her apartment.

"Have fun!" Santana shouted after her.

...

Finn stood in line waiting for his coffee. When he had finally reached the front of the line, he was impatient.

"Hello, what can I get you today?" The barista said to him.

"Could I get a regular coffee?"

"Sure, cream?"

"Umm..." Finn hesitated. Due to his lack of coffee drinking he did not know how to answer.

"Yeah, he'll take some cream." A voice rang behind him.

"Okay." The barista turned around to make Finn's coffee.

Finn confusedly turned around to see Rachel, a cup of coffee already in her hand. He smiled in gratitude.

"Thanks, I've never really drank coffee before." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Really? Then why'd we meet here if you don't drink it."

"Well, um," Finn stuttered, "this place is kind of where we, um, reconnected."

Rachel smiled to herself. He was such a sap.

They found an empty table and stood at it.

Finn pulled the chair out for her.

"Oh, how chivalrous." She said, grinning.

"Is that a good thing?" He questioned.

"Yeah." She smiled at his cuteness.

"Oh, cool." He grinned back at her.

They were still staring as they took their first sips of coffee.

Though Rachel loved coffee, Finn was another story.

He took a sip and grimaced at the taste of it, before spitting it back in his cup.

"Oh god! Is that how coffee tastes like? How do people drink this stuff?" He exclaimed.

Rachel just giggled at his reaction to coffee.

As he started to clean the spilled coffee, he looked up to see Rachel staring at him.

He shot her his signature half smile, and unbeknowst to him, her heart melted inside.

How had a guy that she barely knew already wiggled his way into her heart?

They stayed like that for a few more hours. Talking and talking. Eventually, Finn finished his lunch and they had to leave. Right before they walked out, Finn grabbed her arm.

Rachel turned around, surprised at his actions.

"Hey, I know that this might seem kind of rushed, but I have this friend get together, and my friends are all coupled up, and I'd hate to feel like an seventh wheel. Would you like to go?"

Rachel widened her eyes in shock. This was going really fast.

Watching her reaction. Finn started to freak out. Did she not want to see him again?

"You don't have to..um, sorry, I just thought that you kn-"

"Shut up, Finn."

"What?"

"It'd be stupid if I didn't go. I don't want you to feel lonely." She smiled.

Calmness rushed over Finn in waves.

"Okay, I'll pick you up at six."

"Great. See you later, Finn!"

She gave him her address an they walked their separate ways.

...

The instant Rachel walked into her apartment, she ran into her bathroom to take a shower and change. The only thing that Finn had told her about tonight was that she needed to dress nice. When she asked him why, she shrugged, saying that he didn't know either.

She changed into a red dress with one shoulder and let her hair down. After dressing, she reapplied her makeup.

When she came out, Santana was waiting for her.

"Damn, Berry. Does you dressing up have anything to do with the giant in our living room?"

"What? When did he get here? He said that he'd be here at six!" Rachel exclaimed, looking for a clock.

Sure enough, it was six.

Rachel rushed into the living room, to find Finn, handsomely wearing a tux, looking at a picture of her and her high school boyfriend, Alex.

Finn turned around from the picture to find a beautiful brunette staring at him.

"Wow. You look just...wow." He said, speechless.

"Thanks." She said shyly. She stared deep into his whisky coloured eyes.

"So, who was that guy?" He questioned.

"Can we not talk about it?" Rachel said, avoiding the topic.

Finn wanted to find out, but he decided not to push her.

"Shall we go, my lady?"

"We shall."

"Gosh! Stop undressing each other with your eyes and just go! Britts is coming over, and things are gonna get wanky."

Rachel rolled her eyes at he best friend's behaviour and led Finn out.

"So, Santana..."Finn said nervously.

"Sorry about her, we've been best friends since we were kids. She's known for not having a filter." Rachel apologized.

"So is it true that she'll snip off my dick and murder me without a trace if I break your heart?"

Rachel stopped and stared at Finn.

"When did she say that?"

"When you were getting ready."

Ugh. Santana was so going pay for this.

...

When Finn led Rachel into the restaurant where his friends were, she was nervous.

What if Finn's friends didn't like her?

Finn led her to a table that seated eight. You could obviously see the couples. The beautiful blonde and the mohawked man were onviously together, Rachel noted, watching them tickle each other. Rachel didn't notice the way that Finn stiffened when he saw them giggling.

The two asians were making out, so Rachel knew that they were together. Lastly, a large lipped blonde man was playing footsie with a skinny brunette, and she could only guess that they were together.

"Hey guys! This is Rachel." Finn introduced her.

"Rachel, this is Sam and Marley, Mike and Tina, and Puck and Quinn."

The group exchanged greetings, but Rachel felt like the beautiful blonde lady (Quinn?) was looking at her.

The dinner itself was awkward. She could see why Finn had wanted her to come along. All the couples were too absorbed with each other to make much conversation. When the dessert had finally arrived, the mohawked man, Rachel thought his name was Puck, stood up.

"Quinn. I have been in love with you since we have met. And I want to continueb to be in love with you until the end of time. Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" Quinn squealed and hugged Puck.

The entire group seemed happy for the couple, but Finn stared hardly at Puck before he stormed out of then restaurant.

Rachel was awkwardly left at the table. The group looked over at her with sympathy before going over to congratulate the newly engaged couple.

Rachel left the restaurant to find Finn fuming outside.

"Finn? Are you alright?" She asked, scared to see Finn's reaction.

All the anger washed away from Finn's face when he saw Rachel.

He silently took her hand before leading her to Central Park.

...

"Finn? What was that back there?" Rachgel questoned, not a trace of anger in her voice.

"Nothing, Rach." The nickname flowed freely from his lips.

"Finn. Do you still want to know who that guy in the picture was?"

Finn stared at Rachel.

"We dated in high school. He was a year older. I thought we were in love. He dumped me after he graduated so that he could be free for college. His name was Alex."

Finn continued to stare at her without emotion.

"I dated a guy named Brody in college. He slept with my teacher. He only liked me because of how I looked."

His jaw locked as he stared at her.

"My last boyfriend was Jesse. We were costars on Broadway. He broke up with me when I spiralled into depression. He claimed that I was messed up."

"Rach, I would beat up all those douches for you in a heartbeat, but, what was the point of that?"

"The fact is, I've moved on from all the hearybreak in the past, and I think you should at least try. Just start by telling me why you stormed off."

"It was New Year's. A year before I met you. I was going to propose. I popped the question. She burst out crying. I thought they were tears of joy. She admitted to be in love with my best friend. Puck was my best friend." He said quietly, looking into her eyes the entire time.

"I'm sorry, Finn." She said, solemnly, hugging him.

He said nothing as he cried into her shoulder.

Though Rachel hated to admit it, she didn't think that this man was ready for a relationship.

And she was right.

"Look, Rachel. You're cool and all, but after tonight, I just don't think I'm ready." Finn spoke, breaking the silence.

Later that night when Finn dropped her off, she hugged him goodnight and went inside. As she walked into the apartment she broke down crying on her bed.

On the other side of town, Finn emotionlessly did his nightly routine before flopping facedown onto his bed, ready to sleep the night away.

Both individuals were unsure of their future together.

**A/N:**

**Wow. I've been MIA for the last several days. Sorry. It's just been that school is getting really busy and I have a project for every single subject. Tell me what you thought of the chapter by reviewing. That's all for now, my finchel fanatics:)**


	5. Things Are Looking Up

**Happy [Belated] Holidays!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or Finchel, because if I did, the era of Finchel would be everlasting.**

Chapter 4

He was sleeping on his stomach, his head craned on his pillow, his mouth open, some drool dribbling from the corner of his lip. A loud noise rang through his apartment, making it impossible for him to continue sleeping. Grudgingly, Finn reached above him to slam his hand on the "off" button on his alarm. The noise cut off almost immediately.

A headache surged through Finn's head as he moved to sit up on his bed. After a moment of rubbing his eyes and stretching out his arms, the events of last night's dinner flew through his mind.

_Quinn was engaged. Not to him. But to Puck._ He knew that it would happen, just not so soon. Things had finally started to turn his way, but his stairway to heaven had collapsed, and he was once again back on track on the highway to hell.

-x-

Rachel awoke from her rocky sleep, tired and aching from the night of tossing and turning on her bed. She lay flat on her back as she relayed last night. Things were going perfect, that is, until Finn stormed out and admitted his past conflicts to her. Maybe her and Finn were never meant to be. Maybe she just sucked. Sucked at love. Sucked at life.

Suddenly, the door to her room flew open to reveal Santana, perched against her door frame.

Groaning, Rachel buried herself underneath the covers.

"Get up! Get up! Get UP!" the Latina pushed Rachel off the bed and onto the hardwood flooring. "I will not have you here, moaning about how your love life sucks anymore. You need to get your head out of the gutters and confront Finn. Do you think that your fathers would have wanted you to sit here and throw your life away?" After her little speech, Santana left the room to let Rachel think.

On the cold, hard floor, Rachel sat. Thinking about her past mistakes, her past boyfriends, and her past grievances. She was tired of thinking about the past. Tired of letting go of her future. She came to the realization that after her dads died, she died a little inside too. Her life had been an downhill spiral. She was living the life that she swore that she'd never live.

And it was time to turn things around.

In a hurry of self-empowerment, she picked up her phone, and dialled a number that she hadn't dialled in years.

"Hello? Mr. Schuester? It's Rachel Berry."

-x-

"Up next on 78.5 FM we have Journey's Don't Stop Believing." Finn said into the microphone. His job was cool, if you considered Radio Jockeys cool. Finn quickly started playing the song, before he was signalled off air. He took his headphones off, and left the recording studio.

Journey's song blasted through the room, filling the room with empowering lyrics.

Finn sat slumped at the table. His life had hit an all-time low. Was this really how he wanted things to be? For him to linger in the past? Would he always be stuck in the moments that he hated? For once, a light had shone in his hole of darkness and he screwed up again. He just HAD to storm off and scare Rachel off. She probably never wanted to see him again. Why was he such a screw up. His girlfriend never loved him. And his new girl knows that he's still in love with his ex-girlfriend.

"Dude. Get up." Finn felt a swift smack to his head, and lifted his head up to see Sam staring at him, after a glance, Finn slammed his head back on the table.

"C'mon. Finn, don't be like this. Do you think that I've never gone through this? Don't you remember? Brittany turned out to be a lesbian. Mercedes turned out to be in love with Matt."

Finn looked up again.

"How did _you_ survive this crap?" Finn questioned.

"I just moved on. You think that it didn't hurt to see a wedding invitation in the mail from Mercedes? It didn't hurt to hear that Brittany hooked up with a Latina? It hurt like…..I can't even explain it."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Finn scoffed.

"No, I'm just saying, you can't stay in the past. What's done is done. You just got to move on. Move on and find new things in your life to make you happy. I mean, I found Marley, right?"

"So, you just moved on?"

"Exactly."

Finn looked at Sam. After all the years of working together at the radio station, he knew how stupid Sam could be. But those were the wisest words that Finn ahd ever heard come out of Sam's mouth.

-x-

"_I quit."_

"_Rachel! You can't quit! You're the best! We can't replace you."_

"_I'm sorry, but I think that it's time to get out of this rut in my life, and I want to move onto greater things."_

"_Fine. But don't come crawling back to me when this Broadway dream you have doesn't work out."_

Even after a few hours, Rachel couldn't help but replay the conversation that she had with her boss. Scratch that. _Old_ boss.

After getting off the phone with Mr. Schuester, her old director on Broadway, she had secured an audition for the New Year's party at Times Square. If things worked out, she would be performing the closing number.

And maybe after that, she'd even be able to go back to Broadway.

She fell back onto her bed with a plop. About to snuggle into her duvet and take a nap, but before she could, she heard a knock at the door.

She ran to the front, opening it.

"Finn?"

His handsome face stared back at her, before his lips turned up into a grin.

"Hey, Rachel."

She was speechless.

-x-

**A/N: I realize that there are only four more days until 2013, and three more days until New Year's Eve. There go my short-lived dream of finishing on New Year's…oh well. So the usual, R&R, suggest ideas in my ask box on tumblr, and keep believing in Finchel. That's all for now, my Finchel Fanatics.**


	6. How To Move On

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or Finchel because if I did, Rachel would not be doing a topless scene.

Chapter 5

"_Hey Rachel."_

That was five minutes ago. Even after a good five minutes, Rachel was still standing at the front door. Her mouth was still open wide in shock. And Finn was still standing at the front entrance.

"So, um, Rach, I'm kind of still here. And you're still staring at me. My legs are kind of asleep," Rachel still stood, dazed, and staring at Finn Hudson.

On the outside, Rachel looked completely clueless as to what was going on. In the inside, she was hyperventilating and freaking out. _Why was Finn here? The last time that they saw each other, he wasn't ready. So why is he here now. Is he ready?_ Shooting that thought down, Rachel frowned at the ground before finally lifting her head toward Finn and plastering on a fake smile.

"Hey there, Finn...what are you doing here?" She said uneasily.

"I came to apologize. I shouldn't have been such a douche on our date. I mean, what kind of guy mentions his old romantic problems on a first date with another girl?"

"It was the second date, technically," she giggled to herself, "and you were not a douche. I mean, I mentioned my baggage too."

"Yeah, but I basically told you that I was still in love with Quinn."

"Well, are you?"

The couple was too engrossed in their conversation to notice Santana coming out of her room, and widening her eyes at the sight before her.

Glaring, Santana ran right up to Finn and...

-x-

She kneed him in the nuts. She freaking kneed him in the nuts. One minute he's just standing there talking to Rachel, trying to apologize, next thing he knows, a fiery latina is cutting off his ability to produce children.

He looks Santana in the eyes as his knees give way and he falls to the ground in pain.

"That's what you get, you asshole, for breaking my best friend's heart."

"Santana!" Rachel's screamed shrilly.

"What?! Frankenteen broke your heart and you were just as worse as when Jesse St. Douchebag dumped you."

Rachel said nothing as she glared at Santana with a "don't mention it" attitude. She helped Finn off the floor and moved him to the couch.

Seeing as Rachel was struggling under Finn's weight, Santana groaned and moved over to help.

Once Finn was on the couch, Santana glared at him.

"Now, I'd love to stay and monitor you guys," Finn had a feeling that she meant "watch you so you don't break her heart" but he wasn't fully sure, "but I have to meet Brittany for dinner."

"Oh, wait, let me return the cat toy that Brittany left over last time." Rachel called out, heading to her bedroom. Leaving Finn alone with Santana.

"Now listen here, Tubbers. Yesterday, my home girl was depressed. Not as much as what I like to call the "big incident", but a good amount. If you break her heart again, me kicking you in the nuts will be the least of your worries." Santana said, her mouth right next to his ear, letting each word sink into his mind.

With a gulp, Finn nodded. _When is Rachel coming back out?_

As if Rachel was reading his thought she appeared from her bedroom, holding what looked like a stuffed mouse toy.

She handed the toy to Santana and plopped down on the seat beside Finn.

With one last glare directed at Finn, Santana left the two alone, and exited the apartment.

"So, where did we leave off?" Rachel said, "because I don't remember you telling me if you were still in love with Quinn."

"I think that I was never really in love with Quinn. I think I was in love with the thought of her. The fact that I had a girlfriend."

"If you didn't love her that much, then why did you react so strongly when she went with Puck?"

"I felt abandonned. A girlfriend is supposed to love me, right? I felt unloved." He looked into Rachel's chocolate coloured eyes as he said this.

"I know the feeling." She said simply. Before she could stop it, the familiar feeling of tears building up came, and tears started to stream down her cheeks.

Unsure of what to do, Finn got up and tried to find a tissue box.

Finding one, he handed a tissue to her and watched her soak it with her tears.

_Why is she acting like this? _Flashbacks to his conversation with Santana came to his mind. _Not as much as what I like to call the "big incident". What was the big incident. Could it have been a boyfriend? No. She didn't cry this much when she told me about her baggage. _

Determined to fugure out Rachel's problem, Finn moved closer to Rachel and started to rub her back in an attempt to calm her down.

Looking up at Finn with tears in her eyes, she mouthed a quick thank you before she took another tissue.

"Rach, what's the problem? Is it me? Is it an old boyfriend?"

Ignoring his question, Rachel said, "Finn, I'm a little thirsty, could you get a glass of water?"

Obeying her commands, Finn got the crying girl a glass of water.

"When I was little, my dads used to get me a glass of water when I was upset. It was the only way to calm me down."

"Oh. Okay. Now can you answer my question?"

"When I was born, my dads mixed their sperm up with a turkey baster and had a lady carry me. I don't know which one fathered me, but I never really care because they loved me all the same. I was born, my dads flourished me in the arts. They gave me dance classes, vocal training, piano lessons, if it was artsy, I learned it. I met my mother when I was 16. She was a successful show choir coach and she wanted me to join the choir. Realizing that she only wanted me because I was her daughter and not by talent, I left. I hated my mother for abandonning me as a child. We had an open adoption. And she never visted me. Not once. I felt unloved. I mean, mother's are supposed to love their children, right?"

Confused as to whether Rachel was done her story or not, Finn decided to stay silent and listen to Rachel.

"That was the first time I felt abandonned. Then came the string of boyfriends, but I'll get to that later. In college, I was the most promising student there, but that came with a price. I had no friends."

"Wait. But I thought that you and Kurt were friends." Finn interrupted.

"We were partners on one project together. He was more friends with Mercedes. Anyways, after college, I went straight to Broadway. I was a prodigy, after all. I quickly rose to fame and was cast as Fanny Brice on Funny Girl. I practiced for weeks and weeks and I was excited. I think that my dads were even more excited. When debut night came, I looked for my dads. I thought that they just came late and were sitting in the back of the theatre. When the show ended, I was approached by two officers. My dads got into a car accident and died on the way to see me."

"Oh my god, Rachel, I'm so sorry."

"I dropped out of Broadway and started working at a music store. Then, I met you. A smart person told me that sitting here depressed wasn't something my dads would have wanted for me, so I signed up for an audition for the New Year's eve party and got in contact with my manager. I quit my job at the music store."

"Really, Rach? That's awesome."

"It is, isn't it?"

"Look, Rach, I'm sorry for dumping you after one date and I was hoping that maybe you'd give me a second chance?"

"Yeah. I guess it's time for both of us to move on."

Hugging each other, Finn kissewd the top of Rachel's head.

"I have a feeling that things are going to be just fine between us from now on." Finn said to Rachel, just before he leaned in to give her a kiss.

tbc

**Happy New Year! I was going to upload this at midnight last night but I forgot to. Sorry ): I've already started the next chapter, and I'm excited to see how this turns out. I've also updated the third chapter so that this chapter makes sense. I forgot some crucial details in that one. Oops ): well, hope you guys had a nice holiday, and expect the next chapter sometime next week. That's all for now, Finchel Fanatics. **


	7. 3 Months

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Glee or Finchel because if I did, Finchel would have gotten back together this season.**

**A/N**

**Hey guys! Crap I lied. And I updated this half a year too late...MY BAD. Sorry for the long break, but I had exams and all of that other crap. And so the story continues... **

Chapter 6

A few months later, things were still awesome. Their relationship was building and they had been on plenty of perfect dates with each other since they had made up.

They went bowling, a picnic in the park, skating on the lake, movie dates, and they even went to see a Broadway show, and Finn only fell asleep once.

They even attended Quinn's engagement party and Finn didn't burst out in rage.

_Rachel and Finn entered hand in hand into a sleek hotel based in uptown New York. From the outside the hotel looked like a huge metal sculpture, but in the inside, it was decorated modern, with artistic furniture. Finn thought to himself about how it suited Quinn. She was the type that had to always be in. She'd change her wardrobe every season, because it was out of style. That was one of the main reasons he liked Rachel, she didn't care about that stuff. _

_After asking the front desk for directions to the private room where the party was taking place, they walked across the shiny stone floor to the elevator. _

_As the lovers were standing together in the elevator, Rachel spoke words of encouragement to Finn. _

_"You can do this Finn. Trust me. It won't be that bad. If you want to leave at any time, we can go. We can even go now if you want."_

_"No, Rachel. I have to be there for Puck. He's my best friend, and I'm his best man. I can't just dip on him. I just hope I don't set myself off. "_

_The elevator dinged above them, signalling that they had reached the 16th floor. _

_As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, they came face to face with directions to the designated room. _

_Following the arrows that were posted along the wall, they ended up in front of a smooth metal door. _

_Bracing himself, he grabbed Rachel's hand for moral support, and opened the door. _

Finn thought back to that day. He was pretty proud of himself. He was too absorbed into the depths of Rachel's brown eyes to tighten his fist upon hearing their save the dates.

_Quinn and Puck stood at the front of the room, Puck's arm around Quinn's shoulder. _

_"We'd like to thank you guys for coming to celebrate our engagement. It really means a lot to us."_

_"And we're excited to announce that we've come up with a date for our wedding, which will be in December. December 27th, to be exact."_

_"It's going to be a Winter Wonderland!" Quinn shouted, excitedly. _

Finn's heart clenched, remembering this moment. He remembers thinking why Quinn chose the date so close to New Year's. Cruel. She was just cruel.

A knock on the door jolted him from his thoughts as he went to answer the door.

Finn opened the door to find Rachel grinning from ear to ear.

"I did it, Finny! I did it!" She jumped into his arms without a second thought.

"Whoa there, Rachel! Are you saying you got the spot at the New Year's Eve Concert?" He could barely contain the excitement he felt for her.

Rachel broke apart from the hug and stared straight towards Finn.

"I got it! And not just the spot, I also scored an audition on this new Broadway show! Apparently, I'm the frontrunner for the role!" She bites her lower lip, determining whether she should tell Finn the bad side of the role.

Finn grinned and his arms flew around Rachel and encased her in his embrace.

Rachel hugged him equally as hard, deciding to keep Finn from knowing. She would tell him after she got the part, she decided.

"This is so amazing, Rach. I'm so excited for you! Let's go out to dinner tonight to celebrate." Finn suggested.

Rachel just smiled and nodded. Once Finn left the room to get his jacket, Rachel sighed and plopped down on the couch. _How am I going to tell Finn? He's going to go ballistic._

Finn, on the other hand, was ecstatic. This was the sign. He was going to ask Rachel to move in with him. He'd already been planning to in the past few weeks, but now was the perfect opportunity.

-x-

When the lovebirds finally arrived at Sardi's, they sat down at a table near the window, where many pedestrians could look and watch as they ate. Once they had ordered wine and their meal, a silence came upon the two.

"So when is your audition?" Finn asked, breaking the silence.

"Actually, it's on Thursday." She replied.

Finn almost choked on his wine. Thursday? That was when the both of them had decided to take the day off to celebrate three months of their relationship.

"Thursday? But that was supposed to be our day." Finn said lamely, looking down at the napkin spread on his thighs.

"I know. I'm sorry, Finny." She said genuinely.

Finn looked back up and searched Rachel's face. She looked genuinely sorry, unlike Quinn, who never apologized to him.

"I mean, I guess that's alright. We'll just meet up after the audition."

"Really, Finny?" She said happily, "You'd do that for me? Even after I ruined our plans?"

"First of all, I would do anything for you. Secondly, you didn't ruin it. The directors did. And lastly, I don't care about missing the entire day, I just care that I get to spend time with you."

Rachel looked at Finn with such adoration in her eyes. A mere pedestrian could past by and see how in love she was with him.

They lovingly finished the dinner, gazing at each other affectionately between bites.

-x-

The room is dark. Well, she can see her two feet in front of her but that's it. What if they reject her the instant she walks in?

_Rachel. Calm down. This is your comeback. And it's going to be bigger and better than any other. You're a star. You'll shine bright, I believe in you. Finn believes in you. Everything will be fun. You are a shining ray of light in the depths of darkness that is failure. You will conquer all._

Self-assured, Rachel steps onto the stage with a confidence of a star. Her back straight and a bright grin plastered onto her face, she closes her eyes with a passionate look on her face. Her arms move to her sides and she can feel her thirst for stardom flow through her body as the piano plays the first notes in the song.

The notes of the music echo in the great auditorium, but as she opens her mouth, the notes pour out of her mouth smoothly.

She sings with a undeniable passion, but on the inside, she thinks of Finn. And how he's supported her.

And she knows right then.

She loves him.

And she knows that he loves her.

And things are just perfect.

-x-

She walks out of the auditorium, beaming.

_She had just finished her performance. _

_The director was staring at her, clearly impressed. _

"_Thank you, Ms. Berry. We'll call you."_

Even though she wasn't given the part on the spot, she knew that she had aced her audition.

"Rachel!" a voice called from a distance. It sounded like Finn's voice.

"Finn!" She screamed and ran straight toward his voice, jumping into his arms.

"I did it!"

They started strolling around the streets of New York, before stopping in front of Gershwin Theatre.

"I was wondering if you'd like to join me for a show?" Finn said, looking at Rachel with adoration.

"Of course. Thank you, Finn."

They step into the theatre, holding hands.

-x-

At the end of the night, the couple was walking back to Finn's place, looking at the stars in the sky.

"I can't believe that you can barely see the stars from here." Rachel harrumphed.

"Really? Cause I see a star that's really bright. Brightest I've ever seen really."

"Really? Where? Tell me where, Finn!"

"Right in front of me."

Rachel tore her eyes away from the night sky to look into the amber eyes that were gazing into her chocolaty brown ones so deeply.

"I love you, Finn" She said. It was true. She loved him.

The words went straight to Finn's heart as he stared straight into the eyes of this amazing woman.

"I love you too, Rach. Happy three months."

_I hope things always stay this good, _they both thought.

-x-

And things did stay good, that is, until a certain someone's rehearsal party.

**Again, I'm sorry. Sorry for the shortness and the lateness. But it **_**is**_** Finchel week, so I'll be writing drabbles all week until the 12****th**** (: check them out on tumblr. That's it for now Finchel Fanatics. **


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